Dekan's Grudge

Unfortunately, [Blood Destruction] will clear all status effects upon completion of the spell, so even if [Pain Shield] is activated, it won't help.

Dekan remembered that the Marquis Roderick screamed quite pitifully when he destroyed himself.

Croix will definitely not resort to self-destruction like this unless absolutely necessary.

"Speaking of which, we can finally bring Croix with us for our next challenge in the Shadow World."

After Dekan reached Tier 4, he met the criteria for teaming up with Tier 6 Croix.

However, Dekan became slightly worried.

If the Shadow World discovers that Croix is the one wielding [Blood Destruction] when they enter the Shadow World next time, wouldn't they be furious?

Enraged, the Shadow World might try to disgust people at the very beginning of its Shadow World.

For example, give Dekan a strange identity or start the game on hell difficulty.

"Hmph, there's nothing to be afraid of. I can't wait to see the Shadow World become even more furious."

So the two people and the cat left the Critical Space.

When they first came out.

To Dekan's surprise, Professor Arnold was also waiting for them at the exit, in addition to Croix.

Dekan noticed that his homeroom teacher Professor Arnold, looked somewhat serious.

"What's wrong, Professor?"

Dekan asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Well."

Professor Arnold sighed.

"Actually, it's about your team registration. It's currently in a rather special situation, and you need to consider applying as a Tier 7 team."

"That's what the professor replied."

Although both Dekan and Cornelia are fourth-tier.

However, the Shadow World seems to default to matching them to the sixth-order Shadow World.

One reason is that Dekan and Cornelia's previous performance in the Shadow World was so outstanding that the Shadow World had a different rating for them than their rank.

On the other hand.

The more people in a team, the higher the Shadow World's assessment of the team's strength.

After all, teaming up with familiar people provides a natural advantage in terms of intelligence and tactics.

Therefore, in most cases, teams consist of two or three people, and only a small number of teams with excellent compatibility and teamwork will use Party Card with five people.

Challengers usually don't dare to team up in large groups, otherwise the difficulty will skyrocket.

Dekan already understood what Professor Arnold meant.

This can be seen from the latest Shadow World.

After Dekan and Cornelia teamed up, the Shadow World judged them to be suitable for a sixth-tier Shadow World.

Then, adding to that Croix, who already possessed a sixth-tier rank, and considering the curse on Croix that increased the difficulty of the Shadow World.

Their trip as a trio will almost certainly guarantee their entry into the seventh-tier Shadow World.

However, it begins with the seventh-tier Shadow World.

These Shadow World are not always readily available.

Its numbers are limited, appearing only once every month to six months at most.

Most importantly, under the agreement of the Kingdom Association, it is not permissible for challengers to freely choose their challenges.

Once the Shadow World Indicator of Rank 7 or higher appears.

The Kingdom Association will conduct certain consultations, make a series of preparations in advance, and then allow suitable challengers to enter.

Because if Shadow World of this level fails, it will trigger an extremely severe natural disaster.

The Kingdom Association aims to maximize the chances of success, even if it's just a 0.1% probability.

"So what do we need to do to get approval from the Kingdom Association?"

Dekan asked.

"The Norton Kingdom has done its best to advocate for you, but... there's resistance from the Kingdom Association, and you probably know it's those restless guys from the Northern Nations. So in the end, we only managed to secure a fair testing opportunity for you, and we couldn't get you special privileges to exempt you from the seventh-tier squad assessment."

Professor Arnold answered.

To help experienced challengers form teams more efficiently.

Many of these outstanding elites are used to working alone, but occasionally they will form temporary teams.

This led to the creation of fast tracks that allowed them to work more efficiently.

The Norton Kingdom believes that the Dekan Squad is fully qualified to apply for the fast track.

After all, Dekan and Cornelia's performance in clearing the sixth-tier Shadow World was remarkable.

After Croix joined the team, even though their nominal rank was low, they were qualified to challenge a seventh-tier Shadow World.

However, those who disagree insist on focusing on the issue of the three individuals' official positions.

They insisted that these three newcomers, one at level four and the other at level six, should not be paired with a level seven player, as this would greatly increase the probability of the Shadow World failing.

Given the importance of higher-level Shadow World.

The Kingdom Association had no choice but to follow the most uncontroversial and normal assessment procedure.

"Is that so...?"

Dekan knew without a doubt that it was those guys on the list making things difficult for him again.

After all, preventing Dekan from participating in the challenges of the seventh-tier Shadow World is also an effective way to curb Dekan's growth.

"So, if the three of you want to team up to challenge the Shadow World, you'll first need to complete the Kingdom Association's seventh-tier team assessment. The next assessment exam is in two months."

Professor Arnold added.

"Where is the location?"

"Don't worry, the assessment will take place in a neutral kingdom. However, there will definitely be some people who come to sabotage or hinder you."

However, Professor Arnold sensed that Dekan seemed somewhat disappointed when he heard that the exam location was not in the Northern Nations.

"... Speaking of which, if I catch them deliberately making things difficult for us during the assessment, what kind of mess can I make of them?"

Dekan asked again.

In the present world, he didn't want to do anything that would put the Norton Kingdom in a difficult position.

Therefore, it would be best to ask Professor Arnold for his opinion first.

"If someone wants to kill you, you don't need to have any reservations. Go ahead and do whatever you want."

Professor Arnold replied coldly.

This surprised Dekan.

He thought Professor Arnold would at least tell him not to cripple the person.

"Really?!"

"... Wait, Dekan, why do I get the feeling you're starting to look forward to this?!"

Professor Arnold began to doubt whether he should have said those words.

If everyone else were taking the exam normally, he certainly wouldn't want Dekan to go too far.

However, Professor Arnold worried that some scoundrels in the Northern Nations might take advantage of this opportunity to harm Dekan.

Therefore, he prioritized Dekan's safety and supported Dekan in giving his all.

However, judging from the current situation, it seems a bit too much to directly elevate Dekan to the moral high ground.

Hehehe...

Dekan sneered.

He was about to begin preparations to settle scores with those fellows in the Northern Nations.

I never expected these guys would actually pick a chance to cause trouble.

We need to find at least one unlucky person to serve as a warning to others.

"Professor Arnold, a seventh-level hostage must be quite valuable, right?"

Dekan suddenly asked.

Professor Arnold: "???"

Professor Arnold began to roar wildly in his mind.

Kidnapping wasn't included when I said "anything"!